Joshua Petersen
Joshua Petersen (2003-December 2015) was the younger brother of Summer Petersen. In 2013, he was captured and tortured by Natalia Thornton. Biography Early life Joshua was born in 2003, weighing eight point nine ounces at birth. When he was only a few months old, his parents divorced. Once it became inevitable, the process lasted for three days and Summer and Joshua, who was just a baby, stayed with their aunt. When it was over, they briefly lived alone with their mother. In 2007, when he was a toddler, he accompanied his parents when they finally took in Julius, his sister's cat. When Summer's mother picked her up, Joshua bade goodbye to Julius, and witnessed his death. The following day, everyone held a funeral for him. Joshua comforted Summer during the event, and she told him about the constellation Orion. Joshua enjoyed teasing his elder sister, Summer, though he did not realize he was causing her insecurity to become more severe. In 2008, Joshua and Summer emptied eggs from the refrigerator and playfully threw them on the floor so the two siblings could "skate" on them. When their parents arrived, Joshua was punished while Summer discreetly made her way to the bathroom, making it look like Joshua had made the mess, probably intentionally. School War Like his elder sister, Joshua Petersen fought in the School War, though he was somewhat jealous of how high a rank Summer had amassed compared to him. He did seem to bond with Jamie Thompson, the sister of his own sister's boyfriend, Steven Thompson, during this time. Both of them felt neglected by their elder siblings and they had similar personalities inevitable with troubled youth. On Valentine's Day, he stayed at Thompson's house, peeling several vegetables with Jamie. Second School War Colorado Treatment Center Joshua Petersen had several problems physiologically, and in the aftermath of the School War, he became irrationally enraged because his sister acquired GTR-10 and assumed she was using the robot as an excuse not to pay attention to him even with the burdens of war temporarily off her shoulders. Two days after GTR-10 became a member of the Petersen family, Joshua attacked Summer by pounding her backside multiple times. When his parents ran into the room, Joshua claimed that she deserved for not paying enough attention to him, shocking all three of them, as it was completely unprovoked. This proved to be the last straw, as he had acted aggressively towards his sister and towards other people in the past, and Joshua was carted to a hospital. Summer, not knowing where Joshua was going, willingly accompanied them. When it became clear what was to happen to Joshua, Summer backed into a wall and punched it, and her parents turned around and announced it was time to leave. Summer began crying openly, and Joshua was very distraught when he saw how wet her eyes were before she left with her parents, with her mother telling her she would only make Joshua cry as well. Five weeks later, Joshua's mental health did not improve, and he was "carted" to a Treatment Center located in the state of Colorado. While he was in treatment, he had contact with his older sister via monitored telephone, though he refused to speak with her for seven weeks, as he still envied her. Kidnapped by Cavaliers Sometime after the Battle of Orem, but certainly before May 1, Joshua was kidnapped by Natalia Thornton, leaving the Treatment Center ablaze. Captured by three Shades of the Cavaliers of Thornton, he was held prisoner at GT-3 Base. He was tortured by Thornton for information regarding his own sister. Feeling horrible for abusing Summer, Joshua told her Summer was alone and out of shape and would be easy to dispose of. His ulterior motive for talking was that he wanted to ensure Summer was not outnumbered in the slightest, and then be killed for lying so no further information could be wheedled out of him, as he gravely doubted his chances of rescue. After sending pilot Liv Emerson after Summer and seeing the death of a valuable member of the Cavaliers of Thornton, Thornton rounded on Joshua for an explanation of why Summer had escaped. Although he had no answer to give since he truly believed Summer would be doomed, Joshua was tortured once again by Natalia Thornton. Second Battle of Tower Placement, rescue, and aftermath During the climatic Second Battle of Tower Placement, Joshua was surprised to see Summer Petersen, along with Helen McKeen, had come to rescue him. While in the cellar Summer noted that her brother was not looking well, due to being repeatedly tortured for a long period of time. He thanked McKeen profusely by giving her a kiss on either cheek. Shortly after leaving the school by using a cell, Petersen interrogated him about what he had told Thornton and his motives for divulging information threatening her (Summer's) safety. Following this, Summer passionately helped him recover from months of imprisonment and torture, as Joshua described her as "an undescribable comfort to me after all I'd been through". He never returned to mental treatment. At some point, in a vision, Joshua met his unborn nephew, Tyson Jay Petersen, who would one day become the son of Summer and Joshua's would-be brother-in-law, Steven Thompson. Death In 2015, Joshua Petersen accompanied Vincent Organa to the Palace of Dark Nova. Organa was initially reluctant to let him join, but he promised he would not interfere during the rescue mission they were planning afterward, so he allowed it. When Joshua arrived inside the throne room, he saw that Summer Petersen was weakened by use of magic while Prince Zaron flung a knife at her. Screaming at Summer to dodge the blade, Joshua bravely threw himself into its path, thus saving Summer but mortally wounding himself. His body was carted away from the castle by Jay and Hendersen, as Summer insisted on giving her brother a proper burial. Personality and traits Joshua was a forceful, energetic little boy who often had good judgement of character. Even as a toddler, he appeared to be very empathic. Eventually, partially because of his parents' neglect, he became violent and immature, and he began to tease and even occasionally physically abuse his older sister, Summer Petersen, not realizing he was making his beloved sister's insecurities worse. Eventually, the situation grew so severe that he was sent to a Treatment Center. In spite of abusing Summer in the past, he had always loved her deeply and would do anything to keep her safe. Despite this, he saw her as the driving factor for his incarceration and blamed her for it, refusing to speak to her for weeks. He based this lack of accountability on being provoked by Summer's "neglect", which he exaggerated. There is much evidence that during his time in treatment and prior to its disruption, Joshua had contemplated his past misdeeds and felt remorse and shame for the things he had committed. This clearly influenced his decision to choose death over letting the Cavaliers of Thornton murder his sister, as shown when he lied that Summer was weak and could be easily killed by a single skilled Cavalier pilot. He had an ulterior motive for lying, as he wanted Summer to be safe while he was killed for lying so no further information could be wheedled out of him, as he gravely doubted his chances of rescue. When she learned of this, Summer fondly acknowledged to be out of a desire to achieve redemption. Nevertheless, he greatly valued his own life and well-being, and feared the wrath of Natalia Thornton and begged for mercy when informed that his advice about his sister was incorrect. He immediately forgave Summer when she ate his share of the cake, playfully claiming "you've gotta maintain that pretty bulk somehow". He later once again proved himself a true hero by sacrificing his life to protect Summer from Prince Zaron's evil magic, proving a second time that he had become an extremely selfless child. Joshua is also close with Jamie Thompson, partially because her brother is Summer's boyfriend and because both of them used to feel neglected by their own siblings. Relationships Family Parents Joshua's mother was neglectful of him and his sister. She was eventually forced to send him to a Treatment Center because of his poor behavior. He still cared for her, though, as he was disturbed that his sister refused to talk to her for a long time. His adoptive father loved him very much, and brought a huge cake home to celebrate Joshua's discharge and Summer's victory. Summer Petersen Joshua's relationship with his elder sister, Summer Petersen, is not much explored. He liked to tease her, which made her even more insecure than before (something Joshua did not actually realize). At one point, she got him in trouble for allegedly breaking egg shells by himself, for unknown reasons (possibly no reason at all). The two of them became even more distant after the beginning of the School War, where Joshua envied Summer's position in spite of her doubling her efforts to be kind to him. Joshua's relationship with his sister improved after he was taken to a Treatment Center and called her occasionally via telephone. Having contemplated his past misdeeds and felt remorse and shame for them, he chose death over letting the Cavaliers of Thornton murder his sister, as he lied that Summer was weak and could be easily killed by a single skilled Cavalier pilot. He had an ulterior motive for lying, as he wanted Summer to be safe while he was killed for lying so no further information could be wheedled out of him, as he gravely doubted his chances of rescue and had undoubtedly intended to give up his life to protect his sister. When she learned of this, Summer fondly acknowledged to be out of a desire to achieve redemption. Later, she rescued him from Natalia Thornton's clutches, and while Summer was initially angry that he had turned her in, Summer fondly acknowledged his sacrifice as a desire to achieve redemption. The two made their peace afterwards, and Joshua even forgave her immediately for gluttonously stealing his share of the cake. When they confronted Prince Zaron inside his Palace, Joshua sacrificed himself in order to save his sister's life, proving the true extent of his courage and selflessness. Jamie Thompson Joshua was best friends with Jamie Thompson, the sister of his own sister's boyfriend, Steven Thompson. The two of them bonded throughout the School War. Both of them felt neglected by their elder siblings and they had similar personalities inevitable with troubled youth. They spent a lot of time together, such as on Valentine's Day. Natalia Thornton Joshua was afraid of Natalia Thornton. He was kidnapped by Girl-Team Shades and tortured by her for information about Summer. Behind the scenes Joshua is slightly similar to Miranda Patrick, as they were both unstable and went to hospitals, failed to be cured, and spent around half a year at a Treatment Center. Both of them clearly left treatment as far better people than they had upon entering it, with Joshua's case being a more extreme change of heart. But the difference is that Joshua was violent and Miranda was contrarily reclusive, and Miranda was never kidnapped halfway through treatment. Appearances * * * * Notes and references Category:2003 births Category:2015 deaths Category:Boy-Team members Category:Males Category:Petersen family Category:Second Battle of Tower Placement participants Category:Tower Placement students Category:Treatment Center patients Category:Unmarried individuals